Castle wedding in Wales | Jenny & Jason
A couple so focused on doing the best for everyone, being the difference with full appreciation - Inspirational....
Hensol Castle wedding photographer
The shape of a day at Hensol Castle.
Documentary wedding photography and film. More than twenty weddings here, from spring confetti to sparklers in the dark.
01
A castle on its own lake, just off the M4. Most couples take the jetty at golden hour.
02
Confetti on the front lawn, castle behind you. I line it up so the building reads.
03
The bridal suite has the best window in the building. I use it, then I’m out of the way.
04
Ceremony in the castle. Silent cameras, no flash, no direction.
05
The lake path after dinner. Ten quiet minutes, then back to your guests.
06
Sparklers to finish. I stay until the last one goes out.
The castle
A castle on its own lake, twenty minutes from Cardiff.
Hensol Castle sits in its own parkland in the Vale of Glamorgan, just off Junction 34 of the M4. There is a lake with a wooden jetty, long lawns that run down to the water, an avenue of old trees, and a courtyard off the main hall where the drinks reception tends to end up. It is exclusively yours for the day, so the only people you meet are the ones you invited.
The building dates back to around 1419 and has been added to by almost every owner since. The current one brought it back as a wedding venue with a long restoration, and there is now a gin distillery in the grounds with tours and tastings if your guests are staying on.
I have photographed more than twenty weddings here since 2018, across every season and most kinds of weather. I know which window the bridal suite catches in the morning, where the light falls on the jetty at seven in the evening, and how to get everyone across the lawn for confetti without it feeling like a drill.
The small things
Details, noticed in passing.
Rings, shoes, cake and the table plan. Photographed while the room is quiet, never by stopping the day.
How I’d photograph it
Your day at Hensol Castle, in four parts.
01 · The morning
The window in the bridal suite.
Tall, north-ish light and a view down to the lake. Hair and make-up happen in it, the dress goes on next to it, and I photograph the whole thing without moving a single chair. The groom usually gets ready on site too, so I move between the two.
02 · The ceremony
Inside the castle, cameras silent.
The ceremony room is tall, panelled and full of soft light from the big arched window behind you. I work from the sides and the back, with no flash and nothing staged, then catch the walk back out through the doorway and onto the lawn for confetti.
03 · The walk
The lake, the jetty, the avenue.
Twenty minutes while your guests have drinks in the courtyard. Down the lawn to the water, along the path to the jetty, back up through the trees. If the evening is clear we go out again for ten minutes at golden hour. That is where the pictures on this page come from.
04 · The evening
Speeches, the dance floor, sparklers.
Dinner and speeches in the main hall, then the band. I stay through the first dance and well into the night, and if there are sparklers on the terrace I am still there when the last one goes out.
Kind words
From couples who married here.
Hensol CastleSummer 2024
“We compared galleries of many who had shot at Hensol and decided Lewis was clearly the best. My wife was particularly grateful for all his help and support, and guests found him super easy to interact with.”Jenny & Jason
Hensol CastleGoogle review
“I messaged him only hours after my now husband and I got engaged. On the day he just slotted in and let us get on with it.”Bethan & Jake
CardiffGoogle review
“Lewis should be an essential part of any wedding. Calm, kind, everywhere he needed to be and never in the way.”Holly & Matt
100+ five-star Google reviews
Practical
The things worth knowing.
Getting there
Just off the M4
Hensol Park is a couple of minutes from Junction 34, twenty minutes west of Cardiff and under an hour from Bristol. My second base is in Pontypridd, ten minutes up the road, and travel is included, so there is no late arrival and no mileage on the invoice.
Weather
The castle is the wet-weather plan
Tall windows, panelled rooms and the staircase all photograph well without a single step outside. If the rain eases for ten minutes, the lake path after a shower is one of my favourite places here.
Timings
The last hour before sunset
The jetty faces the evening light. I will map a short walk around the lake into your timeline so you are back with your guests before anyone has noticed you were gone.
From the journal
Hensol Castle weddings, in full.
Good to know
Questions about Hensol Castle.
How many weddings have you photographed at Hensol Castle?
More than twenty, in every season and most kinds of weather. That adds up to a lot of experience with the rooms, the timings and the light, and a few spots in the grounds that most people walk straight past. I still take a walk on the morning of every wedding, because the light is never quite the same twice.
Is there a travel charge for Hensol Castle?
No. My second base is in Pontypridd, about ten minutes from Hensol, and travel is included across most of the UK, so there is nothing extra on your quote.
Can we do our portraits by the lake and still be at dinner on time?
Yes. The walk down to the water, along to the jetty and back takes twenty minutes if we do not dawdle. I plan it into your timeline with the venue so it fits between drinks and being called through.
Will you film the day too?
Yes. Many couples book photography and film together. One calm presence, one approach, and a short film alongside the full gallery. How photo and film work together.
What if it rains all day?
Then we stay inside and the castle does the work. The bridal suite window, the staircase, the panelled ceremony room and the hall all photograph well in soft light. The pictures are different, not worse.
How long until we see our photographs?
A set of previews within a day or two, and the full gallery of 500 or more edited images within four weeks. Films follow within eight.
Nearby
Other South Wales venues I photograph.
Vale of Glamorgan & the coast
Monmouthshire & the Wye Valley
Hensol Castle · Enquire
Tell me about your day at Hensol Castle.
Send your date and a line about your plans. I’ll reply quickly, personally, with availability and a link to a relaxed video call. If the date is free I will hold it for you for seven days while you decide.
Full day at Hensol from£2,600
Morning preparations until late. 500+ edited images. Travel included.
most Saturdays go 12–18 months out
or just tell me here ↓
speak soon — Lewis
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